Lieberman candidacy moves nation closer to religious-liberty ideals
By Charles Haynes
Senior scholar, First Amendment Center
08.27.00
Whoever wins in November, just having Joseph Lieberman’s name on the ballot greatly advances the cause of religious liberty in America.
True, Jews have been free to run for president or vice president since the founding of our Republic. As Article VI of the Constitution boldly states: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
With the adoption of “no religious test” in 1787, America became the first nation on earth to guarantee that the government could never use religious affiliation (or lack thereof) to disqualify a citizen from holding national office.
But the Constitution can’t prevent voters or political parties from applying their own religious tests. Until the 1928 nomination of Al Smith, a Roman Catholic, all presidential and vice presidential candidates from the major parties were (or claimed to be) Protestants. And only one non-Protestant, John Kennedy, has served in the nation’s highest office.
Now Senator Lieberman’s candidacy breaks several more unwritten but widely accepted taboos of presidential politics.
First and foremost, of course, he is the first Jewish American on a major party ticket. For anyone familiar with the long and ugly history of anti-Semitism in American history, the nomination of a Jew for vice president suggests that we may have reached a new plateau in the ongoing struggle to end prejudice and discrimination.
But Lieberman’s nomination is about more than a repudiation of anti-Semitism, as important as that is. It’s a symbolic statement about what kind of nation we are – and what kind of nation we want to be.
As early as 1790, George Washington articulated the ideal of religious liberty in America when he wrote these words to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, R.I.: “All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.”
We didn’t live up to this ideal of religious equality rather than “toleration” in 1790 and, even now, we have some distance to go.
Throughout much of our history, one faith – a generalized Protestantism – has been the semi-established religion in the United States, especially in the public schools.
In more recent decades, many religious Americans have felt that a wholly secular understanding of the world has dominated schools and other national institutions to the exclusion of religious worldviews.
Lieberman’s candidacy simultaneously challenges both of these unjust models. As a Jewish American, he reminds us that this is not a “Protestant nation” where the presence of others is merely tolerated.
And as an observant Jew who frequently articulates the religious sources for his convictions, he reminds us that religious voices are a vital part of our national life that should be heard in the public square of America.
This nomination moves us closer to becoming the nation Washington envisioned. Genuine religious liberty means that citizens of all faiths or none compete on a level playing field in public life and are free to enjoy the privileges of citizenship without regard to religious affiliation.
None of this has to do with voting for or against Joe Lieberman in November. Citizens should make that determination by examining his position on the issues, his ability to govern and the content of his character.
If those factors – and not religious affiliation – are the basis for the American people’s decision, then whoever wins the election, we will have taken another giant step toward fulfilling the promise of the First Amendment.
Your questions and comments are welcome. Write to:
Charles Haynes
The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center
1101 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22209
E-mail: chaynes@freedomforum.org